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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit administration  →  Thread

UC and PC in payment at the same time!?

Paul_Treloar_AgeUK
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Information and advice resources - Age UK

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We’ve received an enquiry from a local adviser with respect to a couple, one aged 68 and the other aged 54, whereby they are being paid Pension Credit (~£111 p/w) and Universal Credit (~£628 pcm), with the latter apparently taking the former into account as income. State Pension, Child Benefit and CTR also in payment.

Apparently, the UC award arose when the 54 y/o tried to claim ESA last year and as they are in full digital service area, this was treated as UC claim instead. The WCA seems to have been refused also and is subject to appeal.

I’m fairly certain that if they withdraw the UC claim, then they can make claims for Housing Benefit for their rent as well as Child Tax Credit for their dependent children (“Mixed age” couples and UC mixed age couples - is this right?)

Do others agree that (1) withdrawing the UC claim should be straightforward as it appears to have been awarded in error in the first place and (2) they should look to withdraw the UC claim following next monthly payment and then make HB and CTC claims at that point? Is there anything I’m missing here? I’ve not had much to do with UC other than following discussions on here, so I’m anxious not to add layers of confusion to this case when I reply to our adviser.

Many thanks for any thoughts about this one.

Daphne
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I think you’re right Paul that they should be able to give up the UC claim and then claim HB and tax credits. I was looking at reg 6 of the UC(TP) Regs 2014 to see if anything stops them but I can’t see anything so long as they’ve stopped being a UC claimant - if they were a separating couple there is a delay of a month but I can’t see anything here. But don’t know if anyone else thinks different?

HB Anorak
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I don’t think there is anything to stop them.  This is one of the exceptions in Article 7 of the No 23 Order: you can make a new claim for HB and CTC in a full service area if you are part of a split-age couple.  See http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/634/article/7

They should never have been awarded UC in the first place of course: Reg 5 of the Transitional Provisions Regs says you cannot be entitled to both UC and SPC at the same time.  Although the person who kicked off the UC claim is not the SPC claimant, I think they have to claim UC jointly as a couple so the anti-overlap rule in TP Reg 5 would kick in.  Nothing that I can find says UC knocks SPC off its perch if SPC was there first.  In particular TP Reg 8 (end of legacy awards when you claim UC) doesn’t refer to SPC.  I think the UC claim should have been rejected on the grounds that one of the claimants already had SPC.

I reckon they stand a sporting chance of DWP not twigging that they have been overpaid UC.  If they give up their UC award and just quietly stroll away they might get away with it!

Paul_Treloar_AgeUK
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Thanks very much both, very helpful indeed.

I’m glad you touched on the potential o/p in particular Peter, as I wondered about that aspect of it. As fa as I know, there’s no mechanism to offset unpaid HB against overpaid UC, so that would be an equitable outcome for them at least (they can’t actually pay the rent with the UC and have DHP application outstanding).

Thanks again.